Clothesline post and reel



June 1, 1943. P. REITZ CLOTHESLINE POST AND REEL Filed Jan. 12, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l lllkllfll ElFllllll-ll rll u III II:

INV ENT OR.

/4 T ORA/t X June 1, 1943.

P. REITZ CLOTHESLINE POST AND REEL Filed Jan. 12, 1942 FIG .6.

' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v INVENTOR. ETER REIT BY Xe;

Patented June 1, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLOTHESLINEI POST AND REEL Peter Reitz, St. Louis, Mo. Application January 12, 1942, Serial No. 426,479

4 Claims. (01. 242-101) This invention relates to clothes line posts and reels and the main object of the invention is to provide a post for supporting one end of a clothes line, the post being partially hollowed out for a substantial part of its length for accommodating the travel of a take up weight and line, and having a chamber formed or provided at its upper end for receiving a clothes line reel and shaft mounted therein and to which the clothes line is secured at one end for winding up or unwinding, the take up line being secured at its upper end to the shaft of the clothes line reel, so that the take up weight will function .to automatically rewind the clothes line when the latter is released for that purpose, the said take up line being of substantially less gauge or diameter than the clothes line and thereby greatly less, in length than the clothes line itself. a I

Additional objects are to provide a weatherproof cover for the reel chamber, means for releasably locking the reel and line at any desired point of extension of the line, and means for recovering the take-up weight, should it become detached from its line and fall to the bottom of the post. V

With the foregoing objects in view, together with such further objects and advantages as may appear in the specification, attention isdirected to the accompanying drawings as exemplifying a preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein: n

Figure 1 is a rear elevation of a clothes line post and reel formed in accordance with my invention, a portion of the post being broken out to show the take up channel with weight and line therein, and the cover being raised to show the line reel and lines coiled thereon.

Figure 2 is a side elevation, on an enlarged scale, of the upper end of the assembly of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a side elevation similar to Figure 2, of the opposite side of the upper end of the assembly.

Figure 4 is a frontal elevation, partially in section, on the line 44 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a sectional detail, on the line 5-5 of Figure l.

Figure 6 is a horizontal section on the line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a detail view on an enlarger scale, of a corner portion of the post including the take up line channel with weight therein, illustrating the use of a retrieving tool for recovering the weight from the bottom of the channel.

Figure 8 is a horizontal sectionon the line 8--8 of Figure '7. h

In practicing my invention I provide a post 5 preferably rectangular in cross section and of any suitable material, such as wood, and of any desired length, say approximately eight feet to 'allow for seating the lower endin a cement base at the ground line as indicated at 6.

One rear corner ofthe post is out out from the top end downward, to form a weight channelway I of desired length, or approximately the length of the post.

The post is encased in a sheathing 8, of metal or other suitable material, and which encloses and completes the channel I. This sheathing is extended at the sides up above the top end of the post to provide an elongated, rectangular reel chamber 9, open at front and backbut closed at top by a block I0. I 7

At the rear side of the post a portion of the of the casing is cut off and mounted on hinges II to provide a door I2 adapted to open for ready access to the upper end of the weight channel I.

A pair of rope reels I3, I3a are rigidly mounted as a unit upon a shaft I4 journaled at I5 in the sides of the chamber 9. A drum or hub I6 is rigidly seated on the shaft I4 within the larger or clothes line reel I3, and a clothes line I! is fastened at its inner end at I8 to this'drum and is wound thereupon. A much smaller and shorter take-up line or weight line I9 is coiled or wound upon the smaller or take-up reel I3a, in reversed direction as the line I'Lthe inner end thereof being secured at 20 to the side of the reel. A take-up weight 2I is fastened at the lower free end of the line I9, and both the weight and line are so positioned and aligned relative to the reel I3a, as to nicely travel through the channel I in the operation of the device.

As stated, the weight line I9 is much finer or less of gauge than the line H, and since it winds directly upon the relatively small shaft I4, while the line I! winds in thereverse direction upon the larger drum I6, it follows that one rotation of the reels I3, I 3a, will wind up or unwind a considerable greater length of the. clothes line I! than of the take-up line I9. Hence the take-up line may be much shorter than the clothes line, and in actual practice this ratio may be about as four to one, so that an eight foot take-up line on the reel I3a with weight at end, traveling in an eight foot channel,.will take care of a thirtytwo foot clothes line on the reel 13, This ratio would of course vary with the relative diameters of the shaft and drum. In any event by this arrangement, a much longer clothes line may be used than Weight or take-up line..

A series of ratches 22 are formed around the periphery of the outer disk or side of the reel I3, and a drop pawl 23 is hinged at 24 tothe rear margin of the top block I0, and trails upon the ratches 22. A flat pawl release bar 25, slotted medially at 26 is slidably mounted at the under side of the block I0, upon a screw 21 passed up through the slot 26 and seated in the block. Thus the bar 25 extends out forwardly adjacent the frontal opening of the reel chamber 9 and this end of the bar is turned down to form a finger hold 28, while the rear end of the bar is offset downwardly, as at 29, to provide a toe adapted to impinge the pawl 23 at a point spaced below the hinge 24. Thus by sliding the release bar 25 rearwardly the toe 29 strikes the pawl 23 and forces it free of the ratches 22. arrangement the clothes line H may be drawn out and its free end fastened to any support (not shown) spaced from the post 5, and may then be stretched taut by reversing the reel I3 and By this allowing the pawl 23 to fall into one of the ratches 22.- Simultaneously as the line I! is thus drawn out for use, the take-up line I9 is automatically wound upon the shaft l4 of the reel I3a. Thus as the line H is released from its spaced support for re-winding, the take-up Weight 2| descends through its channel 1, reversing the rotation of the reels, and re-Winding the clothes line I! back upon its reel l3.

A pair of spaced guard rods 30 are extended vertically across the frontal opening of the reel chamber 9 forwardly of and in alignment with the sides of the reel l3, the ends of these rods being anchored at 3| in the upper and lower margins of the said frontal opening. These guards serve to prevent the line IT from catch ing in the ratches 22 or other parts of the reels.

Aflap 32 is hinged at 33 to the lower margin of the frontal opening of the chamber 9 and thus adapted to close upwardly over the lower portion of said frontal opening. A cap 34 is provided for telescopically sliding down over the topv of the device as described, for completely inclosing the reel chamber, reels and lines thereon when not in use. This cap also slides down and partially over the upper end of the up-raised flap 32, thereby maintaining same to its raised position and completely protecting the working parts against the weather when not in use. The cap is provided on its two opposite sides with pendant slide bars 35, secured at their upper ends, as at 35, to the lower margins of the cap, and slidably passed at their lower ends through loops 31 fastened to the sides of the sheathing 8 below the reel chamber 9. The lower extremity of one of these-slide-bars is turned aside, as at 38, to form a foot, the same locking the cap against complete removal from the unit, although permitting the raising of the cap for use of the clothes line, as shown in Figure 6. A stop 39 is pivotally pinned at 40 to the side of the sheathferential groove 2| (1 immediately below this rounded upper end. A three tined wire fork or fishing tool 42, including a long handle 43 and three flaring fingers or tines 44 formed with inwardly turned hooks 45. In case the weight should break loose from the take-up line l9 and fall to the bottom of the narrow channel I, the tool 42 may be inserted down through the door-way of the door l2, and the flaring tines 44 will spread over the rounded head of the weight with the hooks 45 entering the groove 2la. The weight may then be lifted up by the handle 43 and replaced on the line.

It is thought that the construction, use and operation of the invention will be fully understood from the foregoing description, and while I have here shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention, and specific structural features thereof, the said structures may be changed or modified within the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a device of the kind described and embodying a squared post formed with a longitudinally extended weight channel therein, a sheathing laterally inclosing the upper end of the post and extended at two opposite sides beyond said upper end to provide a reel chamber open at front and back, a closure block mounted between the upper ends of the sheathing forming the reel chamber, a shaft extended through said reel chamber and journaled at its extended ends through the sides thereof, a clothes line reel and a weight line reel anchored side by side on the said shaft, within the reel chamber, a clothes line attached at its inner end to the clothes line reel for winding thereon in one direction, a weight line attached at its inner end to the weight line reel for winding thereon reversely to the clothes line, a weight attached to the outer end of the weight line and arranged to travel in the weight channel of the post for operating the said reels, releasable means for locking the reels against rotation for feeding out the clothes line and whereby said line may be tautly secured to a spaced post, a cap slidably mounted over the reel chamber and arranged to raise for drawing out the clothes line, and releasable means [or holding the cap to its raised position.

2. In a device according to claim 1, guards mounted vertically across the frontal opening of the reel chamber to direct the travel of the clothes line, slide bars depended from the said cap alongside opposite sides of the reel chamber, and loops on the sides of the reel chamber slidably engaging the said slide bars.

3. In a device according to claim 1, a flap hinged at one margin to the lower margin of the frontal opening of the reel chamber for closing upwardly over the lower portion thereof, in side the said slidable cap as the latter is lowered.

4. In a device according to claim 1, a flap hinged to the lower margin of the frontal opening of the reel chamber for closing upwardly over the lower portion thereof inside the slidable cap, guards mounted vertically over the frontal opening of the reel chamber to guide the travel of the clothes line, slide bars depended from the said cap alongside the sides of the reel chamber, and loops on the reel chamber slidably engaging the slide bars.

PETER REITZ. 

